Fabio Arjona Hincapié – a marine biologist, former vice-minister of Environment under Ernesto Samper, and until recently director of Conservación Internacional Colombia – was confirmed as de la Espriella’s minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development portfolio that will sit at the intersection of the new government’s hydrocarbons expansion agenda and its stated commitment to environmental protection.
Ecopetrol’s research arm, the Colombian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Transition (ICPET), has launched a new operating model built around “technology suites” dedicated to water conservation, decarbonization, and nature-based solutions, marking a significant expansion of its experimental infrastructure at the El Chircal eco-reserve in Piedecuesta, Santander.
The Petro administration has designated 1.5 million hectares of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta as a Renewable Natural Resources Reserve, barring new mining concessions and hydrocarbon exploration and production contracts across the entire area.
Colombia’s environmental licensing authority ANLA used a June 1 press release to frame its recent activity on liquefied natural gas infrastructure in explicitly strategic terms: the accumulation of approved and pending regasification projects along the Caribbean coast is the country’s most concrete near-term tool for expanding gas supply, increasing competition, and improving prices for end users.
Three senior voices in Colombia’s energy sector used a La República forum panel on May 29 to deliver a coordinated indictment of current energy policy — and a set of prescriptions the next government will need to act on quickly if a blackout is to be avoided in the second half of the year.
The public utilities industry body Andesco issued a formal warning on May 21 that Colombia has a critical and non-extendable window of three to four months to take regulatory and operational action before El Niño drives the country into an energy supply crisis.
So earnings season comes to an end and, apart from a few special charges, a generally positive one. Brent over US$100/bl will do that. But, unsurprisingly perhaps, that is not what people are talking about
President Gustavo Petro launched a wide-ranging attack on Ecopetrol, political opponents, and business sectors in an extended post on X, centering his fire on what he described as the state oil company’s refusal to reduce its gas demand in the face of an accelerating climate crisis.
With a super El Niño expected to hit Colombia in the second half of 2026, Ecopetrol has outlined a two-track gas strategy: expanded import capacity and aggressive energy contracting to insulate the company from spot market volatility.
Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) has announced what it describes as landmark reductions in gas flaring and methane emissions across the hydrocarbons sector, framing the results as a signature environmental legacy of the current administration.
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